RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - World Cup 2014: Nigeria boycott training in money row

Under the regime of neoliberalism, the expansion of market forces and rationality amount to an evangelical project. Only that this evangelical project is not one of traditional and organized religion. Over the years there have been attempts to bring more and more spheres of human endeavor and activities under the logic of market rationality. The human being that functions well in such a system is a different type of being. He or she is primarily concerned about his or her self-interest or good; you may sweetened that by saying enlightened self-interest. Under this regime, the human being has become a commodity and depending on the kind of human capital or skills he or she has, and the demand for it, and at what time, he or she can earn as much as possible.  This is just like the airlines charging you exorbitantly to go to Africa in the summer but less at other times. 

The increased application of market rationality and forces can be illustrated with surrogate motherhood. Babies are now produced like cars in the sense that the egg and the sperm are gotten from different sources like car spare parts produced in different countries or places. The person who desires the baby mentions the general characteristics of the baby they want by gambling to select the person selling the egg or sperm that has the characteristics they desire. They go to a third place to fertilize the egg, and after that, they go to India to rent the womb of a woman because a woman's womb there is cheaper to rent than in the U.S. It is good quality service for a reasonable amount.  Women who sell the eggs are injected with certain substance to produce fifteen or more eggs in a month which are all extracted. It is a kind of industrialization of producing babies. All this is in the documentary film: "Google Baby." 

There is no sphere of human relationship or interaction that has come under the full control of market forces and rationality that remains the same. Thus soccer or world cup is not an exception in my assessment. Politicians want it because if their national team does well, it promotes a positive image of the government irrespective of the shenanigans taking place back home.

 When you try to create a market society rather than a society that judiciously uses market forces (these are two different things), it has serious social, cultural and institutional consequences that go beyond strict economics  Long ago, Aristotle in the approach called "civic republican tradition" noticed that commerce was a threat to people's commitment to the republic of his time. Why? Because people who engage in commerce even then could not according to him be trusted to be loyal to their city absolutely because their means of prosperity extend beyond the city. Samuel Huntington in a different way made similar argument in his book: "Who are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity." In it, he argues that many corporate guys in the U.S. make most of their corporate profits globally and so are not interested  in an over-emphasis on American national identity. They are global in their search for profits and they feel too much emphasis on national identity might constitute an obstacle. And it is true, corporations leave Americans looking for employment idle, only to go and recruit people to do the job at cheaper rate overseas because outsourcing the jobs give them a higher return on investment. There is nothing illegal about that as far as free market capitalism goes. And remember, Milton Friedman long ago said in his  reaction to people complaining about capitalism creating huge inequalities, that you cannot make an omelet without breaking an egg. This means some people will have to suffer, i.e., the eggs that have to be broken. See the documentary: "The One Percent."  One may not like what he said but he was brutally honest.

If you have any human capital today, even in the U.S., flaunt it or make the best use of it as the market allows you to do so legally and while it lasts. As libertarians argue, people will not engage in commutative exchange if they are not going to benefit from it. So any result that comes out of the transaction is considered legitimate even if unequal. So from this perspective, the increased penetration of market forces and rationality in African culture will surely transform the consciousness and values of Africans. Whether one sees this as desirable or undesirable is another issue that is subject to debate, and one's predisposition.  People are most likely going to become self-centered in such a context. Is it good or bad? Well decide what you want.  We are encouraged to care less for each other but focus on getting ahead.  This much has been promoted even in the U.S. as highlighted in the book entitled: "The rise of selfishness in america" <http://www.amazon.com/Selfishness-America-James-Lincoln-Collier/dp/0195052773/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403928743&sr=8-1&keywords=the+rise+of+selfishness+in+america>

We should not focus on what politicians, Democrats or Republicans say about strong community and a caring society. Look at how the policies implemented discipline humans to behave in certain ways. The policies inculcate certain moral and ethical values. And often those values mean raise yourself by your bootstrap.

From the foregoing, it is not surprising that there is less national pride among Nigerian or Ghanaian players. It is all about how to get ahead as individuals.  We should not blame them. As Jared Diamond argues in his book entitled "Collapse," many elites assume that they can allow the general public in their country to suffer while they enjoy their riches. But when the transformation or collapse comes forcefully, no one is spared including the rich. At least in many African countries and even beyond many elites govern in a manner that suggests their primary concern is not the public good but private interests. One scholar describes this as "Private Pleasure and Public Pain." If the leaders do not exemplify "national pride and sacrifice," how can they inspire that among young people whose future has often being ignored by our post-colonial ruling elites.  It is not easy to grow up as a youth today in many African countries if you are not privileged.

To understand what is happening with the Ghanaian and Nigerian players, one has to look beyond the players and their behavior in Brazil to the social, cultural and institutional context that compels them to behave this way.  Most youth in Nigeria have very little opportunity to succeed if they are not well-connected. So they have to capitalize on what they have that is in demand, just as prostitutes cash in on the services they offer that is in high demand, even though they may not want to do so, but social and economic necessities make it rational for them to make the best of what they have in a market economy.

 In this respect, the market can be either amoral or immoral depending on how one looks at it.  In my view, however, it is dangerous to characterize the market this way because it will overrun society. This is exactly the position of Polanyi. One might morally critique prostitution and the behavior of the players, but on the other hand, given the social realities, it is understandable. In the U.S. the players may become celebrities if they do well, but in Africa, for how long, and how much can their celebrity status earn them? The players realize they have to make the best of what they have which is in high demand. After this high season of demand, the publicity and exposure will go down. If the people in Abuja and Accra govern differently and national service becomes the distinctive brand of their service to the nation, maybe it will be easier to convince the players to demand less on grounds of national pride.

Samuel

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Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - World Cup 2014: Nigeria boycott training in money row
From: seguno2013@gmail.com
Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 04:24:02 +0100
CC: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com

The Super Eagles have become cash and carry. Where is the national pride in this monetary demand for representing our great country?

In our days, we played the game with pride for our primary schools, secondary schools, tertiary institutions. 

The politics of money in all the spheres of the nation makes me worrisome. Can we someday change this mentality?

What is the general practice in other countries like U.K, Spain, France, USA, etc.? Do we have such monetary demands from their players like ours? 

We love our Super Eagles and we want the best for them because they make us proud. They showcase our worth in the sports arena. They should be adequately remunerated but not beyond the capacity we can afford as a nation. The taxpayers' money not petrol dollars. E jo o. Ogun agbe yin o. Aase. 

Segun Ogungbemi

Department of Philosophy

Adekunle Ajasin University

Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State

Nigeria. 

+08033041371,08024670952

syttso@gmail.com

On Jun 27, 2014, at 4:35 PM, "Akurang-Parry, Kwabena" <KAParr@ship.edu> wrote:

Are our governments and sports officials failing our national soccer teams? The Black Stars had the same problem of non-payment of bonus money(see below). Some of the players demanded the payment of appearance fee of $70, 000 per player. This led to altercation between some players and officials. As a result, Sulley Muntari, the mid-fielder, slapped an official of the Ghana Football Association (GFA). The GFA sacked Muntari from the team. In fact, the players demanded to be paid "hard cash" before resuming training for the match against Portugal.  President John Mahama had to intervene via phone from Ghana. Eventually "raw" cash of 3 million dollars had to be airlifted to Brazil to pay each of the players $70,000 dollars. There is no doubt that these distractions compromised the ability of the Blacks Stars to focus on the task ahead. May be Nkrumah was wrong after all: the Black "man" cannot manage his own affairs.
 
Kwabena
 
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28055186

World Cup 2014: Nigeria boycott training in money row By Ian Hughes BBC Sport The Nigeria squad at the World Cup have missed a scheduled training session in a row over bonus money.

BBC Sport understands the players believe they are each $15,000 (£8,800) short of what they were expecting for reaching the last 16 in Brazil.

They refused to train in Campinas on Thursday and officials later confirmed the session had been cancelled.

Nigeria are scheduled to play France in the knockout stages on Monday having finished as runners-up in Group F.

BBC Sport has learned the problem lies in the interpretation of the bonus structure, with the players believing they will only receive $10,000 for their win 1-0 over Bosnia-Hercegovina and $5,000 for the 0-0 draw with Iran.

The players' understanding was they would receive a $30,000 payment for qualifying from the group.

However, it is believed the Nigerian Football Federation's offer to the players includes the agreed win and draw bonuses plus 30% of the prize money due from Fifa for reaching the knockout stage.

This is understood to rise to 40% of the prize money from Fifa if Nigeria were to win their round of 16 match, 50% for a quarter-final victory, 60% for a win in the semi-final stage and 70% for lifting the trophy.

While all parties work to find a resolution to the misunderstanding, coach Stephen Keshi has insisted it will not affect the team's performance.

And it has been confirmed to the BBC that the players will travel to Brasilia on Friday as scheduled and will train in the evening and over the weekend.

It is not the first time the Super Eagles have made a stance over money - last year they arrived late for the Confederations Cup in Brazil

 

 

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